The Challenge of Somès Saddle

Description

Once one of Japan's most prosperous coal-mining cities, Utashinai in Hokkaido began to decline as the coal industry waned. In search of ways to revive the city, people explored various ideas, eventually turning to the craft of harness making. Thus, in 1964, the year Japan thrilled to the excitement of hosting its first Tokyo Olympics, Orient Leather Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Somès Saddle, was founded.

At the time, Japan was still operating under the postwar fixed exchange rate system of 360 yen to the dollar, and Orient Leather benefited greatly from exports. The business expanded so rapidly that the factory could scarcely keep up with demand. However, the situation changed completely with the Nixon Shock of 1971 and the Oil Shock of 1973, plunging the company into the depths of excess debt.

Orient Leather shifted toward developing leather goods for the domestic market. Relying solely on equestrian gear was not enough to sustain the company, so they made any leather products they could. Through their meticulous craftsmanship, they gradually earned recognition and trust. Steadily building a solid track record, Orient Leather launched its own brand, "SOMÈS," in 1985 and changed its company name to Somès Saddle.

Refusing to pursue easy mass production and instead maintaining a commitment to handcrafted leatherwork, Somès Saddle's high quality would go on to win numerous awards. When the Kyoto State Guest House was completed in 2005, the Imperial Household Agency commissioned leather goods from them, and at the 2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, SOMÈS bags were chosen as commemorative gifts for the participating world leaders.

Somès Saddle weathered many storms thereafter, including the financial crisis caused by the 2008 Lehman Shock, and was entrusted with crafting the harnesses used for the 2019 enthronement of the Reiwa Emperor. And just two months after the second Tokyo Olympics in 2021, at the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the 100th running of the race, held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the victorious jockey proudly held aloft a saddle from SOMÈS.

With exceptional skill, unwavering integrity, and a quietly burning passion, the craftsmen of Somès Saddle, Japan's only horse equipment manufacturer, have overcome more than sixty years of turbulent times. Nonfiction writer Akiko Miura brings this miraculous story vividly to life, the result of over a decade of tenacious reporting. It is a tale sure to stir the hearts of all who read it.

This book was first published in 2023 in Japan by Kawade Shobo Shinsha Ltd., Tokyo, and translated in 2025 for The BBB: Breakthrough Bandwagon Books.